Accidentally Engaged(19)
It truly was a walk of shame as Reena snuck out of Nadim’s apartment with her cutting board and chef’s knife in one hand and flip-flops in the other. She’d buy new spices and vegetables. It wasn’t worth the embarrassment.
She needed to put that whole night out of her mind.
*
The first two days of Reena’s newest stint of unemployment were spent baking bread or curled up on the sofa watching Jane Austen movies while her aroma diffuser shot eucalyptus and lavender essential oils at her congested face. Saira texted a few times to set up an eggplant dip lesson, but Reena finally managed to brush her off with the convenient truth that she was feeling too sick to cook. Thankfully, Nadim didn’t call, text, or knock on her door. The more time that passed after that gin night, the less mortifying it would be when she inevitably saw her neighbor again.
By Friday evening, her cold had eased somewhat. Her misery? Not so much. Running out of Austen movies without Gwyneth Paltrow in them meant she had no escape from the mind-numbing self-loathing that inched into her consciousness whenever her mind stilled. She needed distraction. And thankfully, distraction came in the form of a dainty knock on her door at dinnertime. Marley stood on the threshold, oblivious to Reena’s troubles, with a glimmer in her eye and a bottle of sangria in her hand.
“Hey, Reena. I just got home, but Shayne’s upstairs with a ton of his grandmother’s jerk chicken and that pumpkin rice you like. Apparently, he needs to talk to you. Can you come for dinner?”
She took a deep breath. Being around people sounded good. Being around people meant not being inside her own head anymore. “You’re my savior, Marley.”
She followed Marley up to her apartment to find Shayne carefully transferring Jamaican rice and chicken from the microwave to the dining table. It smelled amazing. Shayne’s grandmother came from Jamaica and always sent Shayne home with a freezerful of food whenever he visited. Reena greeted Shayne before plopping herself at the table, watching Marley pour their drinks into tall glasses.
“They had this new sangria at the liquor store,” Marley said. “No aspartame. I will never understand why every food or drink company assumes anything girly has to be sugar free or low fat. Fake sugar tastes like—”
“Despair,” Reena interrupted. Even without Marley’s stellar metabolism, Reena wouldn’t let “substitutes” touch her lips. No fake sugar, no fake butter, or, shudder, fake meat.
She lifted the glass and took a sip. The fruity wine tasted surprisingly rich and complex. Full-bodied and almost voluptuous in flavor. The taste a perfect antidote to her mood. She sighed with pleasure.
What would it be like to share something like this wine with someone every day? To feel this warm comfort of companionship instead of having to wait for a friend to invite her out?
“You okay, Reena?” Marley eyed her as she scooped rice onto her own plate.
“Yeah, fine. Getting over a cold and a little stuffy.” Forcing a smile, she took another sip. She hadn’t told them about losing her job. She didn’t want to be the one who brought a dark cloud to their carefree get-togethers. Plus, Marley was family—and she couldn’t let her unemployment get back to her parents.
“Great. Now, Shayne, tell us what’s going on,” Marley said. “He’s been practically vibrating with this secret news.”
“Give me a minute, Grams forgot the pepper sauce.” Shayne stood. “You have any more of that habanero hot sauce, Marley?”
“Yeah, in the cupboard over the stove,” she said as Shayne walked away.
Reena took a bite of her chicken, the smoky, spicy flavor clearing her lingering sinus congestion in one bite. “Oh, man, your grams makes the best jerk chicken.” She made a happy moan as she kept eating.
“This news has something to do with Anderson, right?” Marley called out.
Anderson, Anderson. Reena wracked her brain. She grinned when she remembered. “Tic Tac ears!”
Shayne laughed, returning to the table. “I’ve seen him three times this week. And not just booty calls either. We had lunch today. Lunch. A brightly lit, fully clothed date at one of those corporate grain-bowl situations downtown.” Shayne sighed happily. “He is the absolute sweetest man I have ever met. He’s like saltwater taffy, all sweet and innocent, and…squishy. I hate corrupting him, but he is starved for a little corruption.” Shayne smiled wistfully. “Anyway, at lunch he told me something very interesting, Reena.”
Crap. About the contest, no doubt. Maybe the deadline was extended. Reena had no intention of telling them that she and Nadim had made a video while drunk. She had done a great job of putting that whole episode out of her mind. “Yes, about that contest, it’s just not something I’m interested in doing.”
“No interest at all?”
“None.”
Shayne smiled. “Okay, then maybe you can explain to me how your name ended up on the list of finalists?”
Holy shit. Reena’s hand shot to her mouth.
Marley grabbed her arm. “You entered? Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I didn’t enter!” Reena said.
“Then how are you a finalist?” Shayne asked. “Cooking videos don’t just make themselves.”
Reena winced. “I’m not a finalist! Tic Tac Ears is mistaken.”